CH 143

“Pardon?” The empress’s words came out of left field. It took Irene a few seconds to process what she’d heard, and then her expression stiffened.

“I heard from the attendants that you have been fervently inspecting around the Empress Palace,” Cecile continued.

Irene felt her heart drop. Has she been found out? She pursed her lips, wondering whether there’d been a spy among the attendants following her around the empress’s palace. Is it possible that the empress had discovered her true intentions? If that were true, why wait until now to dismiss her?

Suddenly, it dawned on her. Cecile needed a competent tutor to face-off against Yuliana, and there was no better talent than Irene! Now that the princess had been dealt with, Irene had worn out her stay at the palace. ‘Ah! This must be what it means to be thrown on the scrap heap!’ There was a common adage that after the hunt, the first to go were the hunting dogs.

The empress was declaring her talents were no longer necessary, or rather, that she was someone that needed to be disposed of swiftly. A guttural rage inside her began to boil. ‘You think I’ll just leave without a fight?!’ If she left now, chances were high that she’d never step foot in the empress’s palace again. She had to hold on no matter what, even if she needed to beg on her knees.

Sucking in a deep breath, Irene made her decision. “What do you mean, Your Majesty!” Irene yelled loud enough for the outside attendants to hear. She bolted from the bed and dropped to her knees before Cecile. The pain from her injured knees caused tears to well up in her eyes, but they were the least of Irene’s concerns. In fact, the tears might even help her case. “Give up serving as a handmaiden? How could you grant me this privilege and then take it away so heartlessly!”

‘Are you attendants outside listening? You’re listening right?’ The position of the empress’s handmaiden was considered a great honor and usually required selection by formal election. It wasn’t a simple matter that allowed the empress to strip the position with a single order, unlike other palace laborers.

“L-lady Irene!” Cecile cried out in a trembling voice.

Encouraged by the empress’s moment of weakness, Irene cried out louder in a mournful tone, “Was I so lacking? I tried hard to serve Your Majesty to the best of my ability, whether it be day or night. Yet I am being told to leave in such a manner! You cannot do this to me!”

Her wails were filled with genuine emotions. Any attendant would’ve picked up on the unspoken message hidden in her words. She was obviously screaming, ‘You’re kicking me out after driving me hard day and night? Give me back my handmaiden position!’

Irene deliberately added pressure and rubbed her injured knees against the ground, causing fresh tears to form from the stinging pain. By this point, her appearance was pitiful and heartbreaking. ‘Since things have come to this anyway…’ Irene swallowed her pride and leaned into her desperation.

“Was I so lacking? I will work even harder, Your Majesty! I will do anything that you ask of me!” Irene peered at the empress earnestly. Since she was going all out, she decided to add in some servility to her act. “I’ll be the one to remove the wasp nest in the corner of the roof of the Empress Palace! I’ll clean the bottom of the pond too! If…if that’s not enough, next time not only will I make sure not to faint like today, I’ll even block a sword properly if need be!”

At this point, Irene’s offer made her less of a handmaiden and more like a slave, but she was too engrossed with racking her brain for more ways to beg to realize.

“This is why I’m telling you to give up being my handmaiden!” Cecile’s teary voice rang out from above her.

Irene was taken aback and her head jerked to look at Cecile’s face. The heck? Why was she now crying?

* * *

How could Cecile not be moved? Even after Irene must’ve been scarred by Yuliana’s scheme to inflict bodily harm, she still refused to give up her position as handmaiden and was pleading to remain at the empress’s side.

The imperial court doctor had informed the empress that a potent sleeping poison had been used on Irene. It was a relief that its effect only rendered her unconscious, but what would’ve happened if the poison had been of a more lethal kind? This incident once again reminded her how dangerous it was for those around her.

‘His Majesty and Richard can’t always be protecting me.’ If even her safety could not be guaranteed, what could be said for those around her? The empress felt a little comfort knowing that at least Tania was tough and strong in her own right, but the same couldn’t be said for the delicate woman lying on the bed before her. Cecile reached out and held one of Irene’s hands.

“I understand how you feel, but how could I ask you to continue in such a  dangerous line of work? I cannot stand to see you hurt!” Cecile said gently.

Cecile’s concern was sincere. When she received the news of Irene’s injury, her blood had run cold. If someone like Yuliana were to appear again in the future, Irene could be hurt and might suffer from another frightful experience.

“Your Majesty, you will not be able to send me away for a reason like that,” Irene said with a determined face.

‘Oh, so this is how resolved she is… ‘ Tearing up, Cecile felt moved by Irene’s words and expression. To sincerely answer Irene’s feelings, Cecile felt she could not back away now, so she squeezed her handmaiden’s hands tighter. “Lady Irene. No, Irene,” Cecile began softly, “would it be fine to address you a little more affectionately from now on?”

Irene’s eyes widened in surprise. The loving tone was completely different from how the empress had addressed her earlier that day.

“From the very moment I first saw you, I wanted to get to know you a little better. So, I ask you… I ask this request of you…” the empress continued.

Seeing the empress hesitate, Irene gulped nervously. What was the empress about to say? Did she want her to lend money?

“Could we be friends starting from today?”

“Eh? Come again?”

The empress’s unexpected request caught Irene off guard. Her mouth dropped open in surprise, as she thought, ‘What the heck is happening now?’